Twentieth Century Notables

Walter Scott Butterfield (1867-1936)

Many thanks to Jeff for finding this story in the Kalamazoo Public Library’s local history files about Michigan’s Theater Man and our cousin Walter Scott Butterfield.

Read about W.S. Butterfield, “The Bijou Man.”

Joseph J. Cannell (1941-2010)

Stephen J. Cannell was a television producer, writer and novelist. He conceived and produced iconic television shows such as The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, and The Rockford Files. Cannell also created or co-created almost forty television series including Baretta, The Greatest American Hero, Hardcastle and McCormick and Wiseguy.

Click HERE to read more about Joseph Cannell.

Actress Templeton Fox (1913-1993)

Templeton Fox (born Esther Fox) starred in radio dramas in the 30s, and later in the 60s and 70s she appeared in MGM films and in television series such as Route 66, The Thin Man and My Three Sons.

Read more about Templeton Fox.

William Fisk Harrah (1911-1978)

William Fisk Harrah was a businessman and the founder of Harrah’s Hotel and Casinos, now part of Caesars Entertainment. Harrah was born in South Pasadena, California, the son of attorney and politician John Harrah. He also created the Nevada Gaming Control Board and later the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Click HERE to read more about William Harrah.

Hall of Fame Musician Keith Knudsen (1948-2005)

Keith Knudsen (1948-2005) was a longtime drummer with the Doobie Brothers. He was part of the band during a string of hits that included “Taking It to the Streets” and “Black Water.”

Edward Sagendorph Mason (1899-1992)

Edward Sagendorph Mason was a noted economist and professor at Harvard University. He was the Dean of the Graduate School of Public Administration, now known as the John F. Kennedy School of Government, from 1947 to 1958. He was the president of the American Economic Association in 1962. Click HERE to read more about Edward Mason.

Warren Perry Mason (1900-1986)

Warren Perry Mason was an American electrical engineer and physicist at Bell Labs. A graduate of Columbia University, he had a prolific output, publishing four books and nearly a hundred papers. He was issued over two hundred patents, more than anyone else at Bell Labs. His work included acoustics, filters, crystals and ceramics, materials science, polymer chemistry, ultrasonics, bonding to semiconductors, internal friction, and viscoelasticity. Click HERE to read more about Warren Mason.

Artist Dean Jackson Meeker (1920-2002)

Dean Jackson Meeker was an internationally known printmaker and sculptor who taught for decades at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Congressman Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. (1925-1978)

Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. was a teacher and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. Representative from California’s 11th Congressional District from 1973 until his assassination during the Jonestown massacre in 1978. Before that, he served in the California State Assembly, representing the state’s 27th District. Click HERE to read more about Congressman Leo Ryan.

Sister Mary Elise Sisson (1898-1982)

On her way to appearances at the Met, opera singer Mary Sisson received a special calling and became Sister Mary Elise Sisson, who brought opera to Xavier University, integrated audiences in New Orleans, and taught acclaimed Black opera stars and musicians such as Annabelle Bernard and Debria Brown.

Photographer William Wescott Snell (1908-1993)

Before there was Kodachrome, William Wescott Snell travelled the Upper Midwest selling Dufaycolor film and promoting the benefits of color photography. But his notoriety came long after his death when his photographs of the 1940 St. Paul Winter Carnival Parade, rare images with early color technology, were discovered by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Click HERE to read the story.

Musician Bob Welch (1945-2012)

After a four-year, pre-phenomenon stint in Fleetwood Mac, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bob Welch released an album that went platinum, French Kiss, and Three Hearts, which went gold. His Top 40 singles include “Precious Love,” “Sentimental Lady” and “Ebony Eyes.”

Thayer Soule, Photographer and Travel Writer (1917-2004)

Thayer Soule kicked off a 60-year career of photography and producing travelogues at the age of 17 by taking a banana boat to Haiti. At the age of 23 he was a combat photographer documenting the battle of Guadalcanal.

Marshall Robertson, Engineer with Command in High Places (1900 to 1988)

Westcott descendant Lawrence Marshall Robertson (January 20, 1900 to July 23, 1988) was an internationally recognized electric utilities engineer, as profiled in a selection from Engineering and Technology History Wiki.